The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Begonia.times.hiemalis known by the varietal name Susanne. The new variety originated as a sport of Pia Elise (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,930) and was discovered on Jul. 14, 1987 at Schenck Farms and Greenhouses Co. Limited in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The new variety was first asexually reproduced by cuttings at Schenck Farms and Greenhouses Co. Limited in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The new variety has been asexually reproduced by cuttings at Oglevee, Ltd. in Connellsville, Pa. over a three-year period and has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics. Susanne has the same plant form as Pia Elise, but has darker foliage and a red flower instead of a pink flower.
The cultivar when grown in a glass greenhouse in Connellsvile, Pa. using natural light and 65.degree. F. night and 72.degree. F. day, has a response time of 9 to 10 weeks from a rooted cutting to flowering in a 6 inch pot (no pinch). The test plants were potted in May of 1990 in a peat-lite mix and fertilized with Peters 20-10-20 fertilizer.
The following characteristics distinguish `Susanne` from the parent cultivar `Pia Elise` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,390) and other begonias patented and/or commercially known and used in the floricultural industry, namely `Barbara` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,179) and `Lisa` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,186):
1. This mutation has the same overall plant form as `Pia Elise` and `Barbara`.
2. It is more vigorous and has a slightly larger overall leaf size then `Lisa`.
3. The flowers of `Suzanne` are double and have the same size as `Pia Elise`, they are slightly less double and larger in diameter than `Barbara`.
4. The foliage color of mature expanded leaves is Greyed/Purple 183B as compared to Yellow/Green 147 on `Pia Elise` and Yellow/Green 147 on `Lisa`. The substantial difference in color of the foliage clearly distinguishes this mutation from both `Pia Elise` and `Lisa`.
5. This mutation has a medium to dark red flower (Red Group 43A) as opposed to the light red flower of `Lisa` (HCC 19/1 - HCC 622/1, which is believed to be roughly comparable to 43C which is at least two shades lighter than 43A).